Rutgers to officially join Big Ten at 2 p.m. press conference

Rutgers head football coach (left) Kyle Flood celebrates with his players after Rutgers beat Army 28-7. ON SAT NOV. 10,2012

Rutgers' defection from the Big East and entrance into the Big Ten will become official at 2 p.m. Tuesday, with university president Robert Barchi, athletics director Tim Pernetti and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany scheduled to attend a press conference at the Hale Center.

A member of the Big East for football since 1991 and for all sports since 1995-96, Rutgers is targeting 2014 as the first season it will begin playing in the nation's oldest and most prestigious conference.

The Big Ten was formed in 1896 -- 27 years after Rutgers and Princeton played the first game of intercollegiate football. The conference will include 14 members once Maryland, which defected from the ACC to join the Big Ten on Monday, and Rutgers enter league play.

The press conference is closed to the public, but stay tuned to Scarlet Scuttlebutt throughout the day for exclusive coverage, including stories at 2 p.m. right when the press conference begins.